Trudeau’s “We must support our ‘children?’ comment missed mark

Prime minister perpetuating the usual ‘us’ and ‘them’ frame of reference

In these on and off dog days of summer, maybe the latest remarks by our Prime Minister with regard to Indigenous issues have not caught much public attention, or maybe Indigenous voices no longer see the point in reacting to his wrong-headedness.

It was reported that at a Liberal fundraiser in Victoria on July 18, Mr. Trudeau, talking about Indigenous communities, asserted that “We have to be unconditional in our support ... in a way that a parent needs to be unconditional in their love...”.

Wow! The ghosts of John A. Macdonald and all the other political leaders from the “civilized” echelons of Canada must be nodding and smirking today. That sentiment was exactly what propelled them — well, not exactly the love and support part, but for sure the parent-child part. Yes, Mr. Trudeau immediately added “not that there is a parent-child dynamic here,” but one cannot make the first reference so adamantly unless there actually is a parent-child perspective somewhere in one’s mind. Indeed the later part of his comments verify this.

Yet, it’s even more revealing and troubling. Our Prime Minister is perpetuating the usual us and them frame of reference. This has been a deeply inset trait throughout Canadian history. All of us Europeans and now all of us in our multicultural finery are one tribe when it comes to Indigenous issues, and all of the Indigenous First Nations are one tribe when it comes to the non-Indigenous Canada. He tells “us” what we need to do with regard to “them.”

And what does he go on to say? He tells his Liberal audience that they and “us” must allow Indigenous communities “them” “to make their own mistakes.”

What the heck does this mean and why is he saying it? Is he referring to Chief Stewart Phillip and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs who oppose pipelines through Indigenous territory? Or is he referring to Shane Gottfriedson of Project Reconciliation, the Indigenous consortium that wants to buy a stake in the Trans Mountain Pipeline? Which one is making a mistake that we need to forgive?

In fact, the very notion that someone has both the wisdom and authority to adjudicate when mistakes are made by Indigenous communities stems directly from either a core of racism or myopic elitism. The ignorance and arrogance is palpable. For sure the PM would not talk to English Canadians about French Canadians.

Defenders might say the P.M. was referring to corruption or financial mismanagement within First Nations band leadership. Well, let’s examine that for a moment. Within every apparatus of leadership in every jurisdiction on the planet, corruption and mismanagement occurs. Why then, is there a need for specific references to the need for patience or understanding when it comes to First Nations and not all the other jurisdictions in which “mistakes” happen? Ahhh, of course, because they are “children.”

So, should we conclude that Mr. Trudeau is racist or insincere in his constantly repeated feelings and respect for Indigenous people? That’s possible, but far more likely is that he really means his support and really wants to rectify the generations of colonization and oppression, but simply lacks the depth of awareness and depth of advisement that he needs. His embarrassing trip to the real India exposed the weakness of his advisory and research circle. How they could have let him dress himself and his family in weird Indian costumes and suffer the ridicule in the Indian media is mind boggling.

Right now, of our current political parties, it is Mr. Trudeau who is the best bet to have the power to further the interests of Indigenous communities, so it is he who needs patience and understanding. It is he who needs to develop.

As far as sincerity goes, a clear direction is that money and lots of it needs to be spent on whatever resources every community, Indigenous or not, need to help youth with life issues related to mental health, addiction, and meaningful recreation. An obvious and doable action would be ensuring within the next year that every Indigenous community in Canada has good drinking water.